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It takes a believer to mock the Church properly

Despite the protests, Spain is still viscerally and culturally Catholic

Felipe Fernández-Armesto

August 20 2011, 1:01am, The Times

Heard the one about Father Gonzalo’s confession? “Bless me, Father,” he whispered, “for I have sinned today with 15 partners in 37 positions.”

“Thanks be to God!” exclaimed his confessor. “No one can outdo us priests.”

The most scabrous Spanish jokes are anti-clerical. Only Catholics appreciate them fully, because only Catholics know how much truth there is in the jests, and how much, like all good satire, they rely on burlesque and parody. Much anti-clerical Spanish humour originates with the clergy and has done so for centuries: among the earliest recorded jokes are 13th-century carvings of monks and nuns engaged in naughtiness on cathedral misericords, where the canons would rest their backsides during long offices of prayer.

Catholic anti-clericalism may seem paradoxical in England, but…

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